Space Shuttle Enterprise Damaged by Hurricane Sandy

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Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA's original prototype orbiter, is
sitting exposed and appears to have been partially damaged by
Hurricane Sandy after the severe storm passed over New York City
on Monday night (Oct. 29).

On public display aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum,
a converted aircraft carrier, since July, Enterprise had been protected
from the elements inside a pressurized pavilion. Based on photos
posted online, the inflatable structure appears to have first
deflated and then been torn by the winds of the now post-tropical
storm cyclone.

Photographs show the 180-foot-long (55 meters) by 60-foot-high
(18 meters) pavilion's cloth exterior now lies draped over
Enterprise, although much of the shuttle's nose section and part
of its payload bay is uncovered. The orbiter's vertical
stabilizer, or tail, is protruding out of the top of the fabric,
where it appears part of the spacecraft has been torn away.

Intrepid officials did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.

The "superstorm" Sandy flooded Pier 86, where the Intrepid is
anchored, submerging part of the museum's main entrance under
water. Similar extensive damage was seen throughout the city and
region, leaving buildings destroyed, millions of people without
power and at least 16 dead. [ Superstorm
from Space: Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos ]

Enterprise was
delivered to the Intrepid in June after being transferred
from its previous home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. In its
place, the retired space
shuttle Discovery is now on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center,
having arrived in April after NASA retired its 30-year shuttle
program in 2011.

Discovery was also in Sandy's path, and the Smithsonian remains
closed due to the storm. However, no damage to that orbiter was
reported, nor was any damage evident on webcam footage of the
shuttle.

Enterprise, built in the 1970s, never made it to space, but it
was used as a prototype to test the space shuttle design during
approach-and-landing glide tests.

Since its arrival at the Intrepid, Enterprise has been housed in
its climate-controlled steel-and-fabric "Space Shuttle Pavilion."
This shelter was never meant to be permanent, however.
Eventually, Intrepid plans to build a larger facility to showcase
the shuttle and enhance its other space exhibits and educational
displays.

As of Tuesday morning, superstorm Sandy was centered about
120 miles (190 kilometers) east-southeast of Pittsburgh, slowly
moving westward and weakening over Pennsylvania, according to the
National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. The storm's maximum
sustained winds were 45 mph (72 kph), down from 90 mph (150 kph)
Monday when it was a Category 1 hurricane.